DIY: Critical Making and Social Media

If you know me very, very well, you know that I enjoy conference-organizing. Here is yet another one I’m working on. I’m not familiar with the academic exploration of social media or “critical making” but I imagine it should be especially interesting, since the call for paper encourages submissions consisting different types of media. I’m all about what my sister calls “up-to-dateness” and I strongly believe this is one grand conference you don’t want to miss. Check out the CFP:

DIY Citizenship: Critical Making and Social Media
Centre for the Study of the United States, Munk School of Global Affairs
University of Toronto
Nov 12-14, 2010

Conference Organizers: Prof. Megan Boler, Associate Chair, Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto; Prof. Matthew Ratto Assistant Professor, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto; Director, Critical Making Lab, University of Toronto

A renewed emphasis on participatory forms of digitally-mediated production is transforming our social landscape. Making has become the dominant metaphor for a variety of digital and digitally-mediated practices. The web is exploding with independently produced digital content such as video diaries, conversations, stories, software, music, video games ”all of which are further transformed and morphed by modders,hackers, artists and activists who redeploy and repurpose corporately-produced content. Equally, communities of self-organized crafters, hackers, and enthusiasts are increasingly to be found online exchanging sewing and knitting patterns, technical guides, circuit layouts, detailed electronics tutorials and other forms of instruction and support. Many of these individuals and collaborators understand their work to be socially interventionist. Through practices of design, development, and exchange they challenge traditional divides between production and consumption and to redress the power differentials built into technologically-mediated societies.

DIY Citizenship invokes the participatory nature of these diverse do-it-yourself modes of engagement, community, networks, and tools”all of which arguably replace traditional with remediated notions of citizenship. The term critical making refers to the increasing role making plays in critical forms of social reflection and engagement.

This interactive conference seeks to extend conversations about new modes of engaged DIY citizenship and politics evidenced by the exponential increase of DIY media,user-generators , prosumers, hacktivists, tactical media interventionists, and other maker identities. We invite scholars, activists, artists, designers, programmers and others interested in the social and participatory dimensions of digitally-mediated practices, to engage in dialogue across disciplinary and professional divides. All methodological and theoretical approaches are welcomed. Submissions may include paper proposals, works of art and/or design, short video or audio segments, performances, video games, digital media, or other genres and forms. Potential topics include: the relation between social media and the making of new forms of citizenship engagement”thus, for example, making movements; making community; making news; making play; making bodies; making health; making public; making education; making networks.